


through thick and thin

by hullomoon



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s04e08 The Jazzaguy, Episode: s06e01 Smoke Signals, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Post-Canon, Season/Series 03, Season/Series 05, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28680537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hullomoon/pseuds/hullomoon
Summary: A glimpse at Patrick and Alexis's friendship through the years
Relationships: Patrick Brewer & Alexis Rose
Comments: 30
Kudos: 57





	through thick and thin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nontoxic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nontoxic/gifts).



> Happy Birthday nontoxic! You're such an amazing writer and I feel so fortunate to have gotten to know you.
> 
> This is my first fic for 2021 so happy belated new year everyone! I forgot to mention in my last fic, but I wrote 150k last year, so here's hoping I get close this year!

Patrick looked down at Alexis's textbook. The whole page was highlighted and he didn't know if he should bring it up. Everyone had different ways of learning, but the fact that Alexis asked for his help had him wonder if that had been a failed previous attempt at studying. 

"So, I made those flashcards like you told me to at the last study sesh and I thought you could help me review."

"Sure," Patrick replied as he took the cards from her hand. 

He glanced down at the cards and flipped through a few of them. They were color-coordinated by topic and written in a loopy-style.

He read aloud the word and Alexis replied with the definition. She did better than last time and Patrick grinned when they finished and she’d only missed five definitions.

“You’re really getting better at this Alexis,” he said as he handed back her cards.

“I know,” she replied with a little flip of her hair.

Patrick gathered the few things he had and headed toward the door.

“Oh, Patrick.”

He turned to see Alexis playing with a section of hair. “Yes?”

“If you think you’re getting some kind of vibe from David, you are.” She finished her statement with a poor attempt at a wink.

“O-Oh, thanks, Alexis.”

He shut the motel door behind him and paused for a moment. Was Alexis telling the truth? He and David flirted a lot but he tried not to think what it meant. According to Alexis though it meant something and he viewed Alexis as a friend—one of the few he’d made so far—so she probably wasn’t lying. As he headed back to Ray's, his thoughts raced as he tried to figure out what he could do to show David he wanted something beyond a business relationship.

\---

The jingle of the bell caused Patrick to look up from the counter and he instantly wished he was anywhere other than the store. Alexis strolled toward the checkout, a bag limply held on her wrist.

“So, how are you feeling?”

Patrick sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “Isn’t this like coming over to the enemy?”

“It’s day five, Patrick. I’m sure David can forgive me for coming to see you. Besides, you’re my friend too.”

His breath caught as she mentioned David. He thought the time apart would mean he wouldn’t have this strong of a reaction, but the churring in his stomach suggested otherwise.

Patrick forced the words out of his mouth. “I’m fine.” 

He felt hands grip his biceps and he looked up to see Alexis, a concerned look on her face and lightly shaking her head. “No, Patrick. How are you  _ really _ feeling.”

“Awful,” he blurted it out. The admission broke the dam and he started to cry. 

Alexis moved to wrap her arms in a hug and the tears fell faster. How pathetic was he that his potentially ex-boyfriend’s sister was the one to comfort him. 

“It’ll work out,” she murmured.

“You don’t know that,” he replied petulantly, voice raw from crying.

“Well, wallowing won’t help either.”

“How am I supposed to work at the store if David and I break up?” his voice caught at the end and a few more tears rolled down his cheeks.

“It’ll hurt in the beginning,” Alexis started, “and it’ll be awkward, but then eventually there’ll come a time when the ache softens and it’s just a pinprick of the pain it once was.”

Patrick pushed himself from Alexis’s arms. “Shit, Alexis I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up Ted.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I know you didn’t mean to.”

He shook his head firmly. “No. I’m over here worried about a relationship that I don’t even know if it’s over yet and you still have this whole thing with Ted.”

He wrapped Alexis up in a hug before she could protest. They moved to sit down on the floor and Patrick had a fleeting thought toward customers. 

Patrick doesn’t know how long they sit on the floor, but it’s long enough for the tears to dry on his face and his breathing to even out. They pull away from each other and he doesn’t say anything about the redness in Alexis’s eyes. 

\---

“Are you going to get changed?”

Patrick looked down at his t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. “Uh, no?”

Alexis swatted at Patrick’s shoulders. “You cannot do dance practice in jeans!”

“I didn’t think it would be an issue?” he started.

“You’ve got to be able to move and jeans have never done that for anybody. Plus, you wear like, the tightest jeans possible, which I know David loves,” she made a face, “but one warmup and you’ll probably rip them.”

“What am I supposed to do? Practice starts in five minutes and I don’t think I have enough time to go to my apartment.”

“Just borrow from David, he almost always has a pair of joggers in his bag.”

He gave Alexis a quick thank you and headed out of town hall, giving a quick greeting to Jade and Stevie he walked past. David let him borrow his joggers, but not without a laugh and a kiss after Patrick admitted he went to practice in jeans. He returned just in time and walked over to stand next to Alexis and Stevie.

He felt awkward as they started their warmups. David’s pants were too big and as they stretched he felt like a baby elephant. He glanced toward Stevie who seemed to be having similar issues and then to Alexis, and while she wasn’t the most graceful she made up for it in confidence.

Moira talked about what she envisioned for the opening number and they started with the first few moves. During their break, Patrick grabbed his water bottle and plopped down next to Alexis.

“How do you do that?” he asked and waved a finger toward where they practiced.

“Well, I was in the Pussycat Dolls for a day and while we didn’t get to the dancing or singing I learned a lot about confidence and just putting yourself out there. You're the Emcee, it’s all about performance and confidence. Don’t think about what Patrick would do, but what  _ he  _ would do.” She finished the statement with a boop to his nose.

“Thanks, Alexis.”

Practice went a little better. He was less nervous and while he still messed up, he reminded himself it was the first day and there were many more practices to come.

\---

Patrick let David walk ahead of him as he talked to Clive. 

“Walk with me?” Alexis asked.

“Sure.”

They looped their arms together and Patrick looked in awe and the room around him.

“I didn’t know they had anything like this near Schitt’s Creek.”

“I know right? David almost cried when he found their website.”

As they toured the inside of the venue Patrick started to see how it would work for them. What rooms he and David’s family would use to get ready. The reception area that could double as the place for the ceremony itself if they got rained out.

“You have this glow about you.” 

Patrick pulled himself from his thoughts and turned to look at Alexis. “It’s probably because of the skincare plan David created for me once we started doing makeup for the show.”

Alexis shook her head. “It’s not that. It’s like you have this, joy, radiating around you. Almost married looks good on you.”

“Well, I’m sure once you get back from the Galapagos you’ll have a glow about you too.” 

He held the door open for Alexis as they headed outside. “Are you excited to see Ted?”

“It hasn’t been that long since he left, but I have to admit that after the long flight, falling asleep next to Ted does sound appealing.”

“I’ll miss you,” Patrick admitted. They’d gotten closer during Cabaret and to now have that cut off due to Alexis’s trip, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle it.

“I’ll miss you too, button.”

\---

Patrick knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and then the door opened to reveal Alexis.

“Oh my god, you look so dapper in your little suit!”

David picked it out after he stated that he should at least have two suits as wearing his wedding suit to a funeral was ‘incorrect.’ He walked into her apartment. “Thanks. You look beautiful.”

Alexis took a hand to smooth out her dress. The top was a dark navy with small cutouts at the waist, a thin yellow band at the waist, and a silver sequined skirt. “I thought it might be too much, but then remembered that tonight is for me.”

She had been excited when Interflix noted that she and some of her coworkers would be recognized for their work at the company-wide party. She invited David and Patrick to come, but when David caught the flu, he insisted Patrick go so Alexis wouldn’t be alone. 

“David sends his apologies.” 

Alexis grabbed her purse and headed to the door. “He doesn’t have to apologize. Although I told him he shouldn’t have eaten from the same bowl as Stevie. It’s fine though, I get to spend the night with my favorite brother.”

The night went well and Patrick loved seeing Alexis bask in the attention and praise of her peers. They stopped at a twenty-four-hour diner as the hors d’oeuvres left them hungry.

Alexis scraped her fork across her plate to catch the last syrupy bits of pancake. “I have a date next week,” she said casually.

Patrick smiled. “That’s great news.”

She kept her eyes on her plate, but he saw her smile slightly. “I’m excited, but scared.”

He thought about his next words and was taken back to an earlier conversation, one with tears and sitting on a hardwood floor. “It’s your first date since Ted and it’s been months. I remember how nervous I was before my first date with David, it felt like the first time I was really putting myself out there.” He reached his hand across the table and grabbed hers. “This date doesn’t have to be life-changing, most dates aren’t. Just focus on having fun and if it’s a bust then you can call me and David.”

“Thank you, Patrick.”

“You’re welcome, Alexis.” 

**Author's Note:**

> The outfits Patrick and Alexis wear in the last part come from [this photo](https://hullomoon.tumblr.com/post/185236677258/themoirasroses-annefrances-to-honour-olreids)
> 
> If you want to come chat, or get updates on the fics I'm currently writing, I'm [hullomoon](https://hullomoon.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


End file.
